with the sro series.... yes, seeing as the air is very high to water draw, a valve to adjust the airflow is a good idea and will work. SWC cone skimmers come with a built in air adjustment for their skimmers. The reason it is also a good idea for them is they are running a mesh pinwheel which will also over boost air to water draw and dialing in is often necessary. On a good balance air/water intake skimmer, you do not want to mess with air draw. If maysorum could get an air valve and adjust the air to get a good column of tight compact bubbles up the neck, he should get great skimmate production as well as keep the foam column very stable. The body/neck size of the sro2000 is just right for his 90 gal tank, so get the air and water draw right and he should be gold.
Skimmer Q&A Thread
- Thread starter mojo~
- Start date
with the sro series.... yes, seeing as the air is very high to water draw, a valve to adjust the airflow is a good idea and will work. SWC cone skimmers come with a built in air adjustment for their skimmers. The reason it is also a good idea for them is they are running a mesh pinwheel which will also over boost air to water draw and dialing in is often necessary. On a good balance air/water intake skimmer, you do not want to mess with air draw. If maysorum could get an air valve and adjust the air to get a good column of tight compact bubbles up the neck, he should get great skimmate production as well as keep the foam column very stable. The body/neck size of the sro2000 is just right for his 90 gal tank, so get the air and water draw right and he should be gold.
do you know where I might find an air valve? and what kind? many thanks!
like this: http://reefcentral.org/forums/showthread.php?p=20256195 ?
jfeva0049
Member
thanks for the info. the pic was from a couple months back and i want to say that is was probably about a week or so worth of skim mate, not sure if that's good or bad. also could you please explain a little more about the bubble column height... i often wonder how high/low to set it.
thanks again for the help.
If you had an owners manual(reef dynamics owners manual anyways) you would see the recommended bubble break height is about 1 to 2 inches below the top of the neck for best skimming. While the skimmate may not be as black, the overall results improve. So, run the bubble column up a tad more so that foam is produced above the point where the bottom of the cup intersects the neck.
jfeva0049
Member
i just cleaned the cup out and took some new picture, please tell me what you think, does it look set right? thanks.
looks good. perfect pictures for those that need to understand just what 'tiny bubble up the neck' means.... Those tiny bubbles up the neck are what it is all about! The point between wet and dry on balanced skimmers is the most minuscule of wedge pipe/gate valve adjustment. At that current bubble height, the skimmate may become more dark green or brown vs black, but, the neck will stay cleaner(skimmer will perform better longer) and you probably will have to empty the cup every few days instead(which is good). anyways, I run a euro reef(reef dynamics) with that bubble height and have never registered any nitrate or phosphate while testing ever. This is how Jeff (the owner/designer) of reef dynamics(and euro reef) suggest the skimmer be run. Essentially, the foam goes right into the cup and the opportunity for any microfauna/bacteria to die with foam drainage and then have unskimmable phosphate and organics drain back into the tank is just about eliminated... funny thing is how dry skimmate so 'in' and prevalent today (and even in the not so distant past) actually equals rising levels of phosphate and the need for gfo or carbon dosing or macro algae. what may be good for the corporate 'industry' is not necessarily good for the consumer. Oh, if you ever want to see just how much your skimmer can pull at max, take some skimmate collected and pour it back into your sump... there you go in regards to seeing just how much organics the skimmer will pull when overloaded... Pretty amazing actually. The wetter skim will pull in an hour what it may take all day for dry skim to pull out.
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here you go... http://www.reefdynamics.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=air+valve&Search.x=0&Search.y=0 I have two of these from two of their skimmers... you can simply put it on the top of the air silencer(kinda loud) or maybe cut and install below the silencer... note: when cutting off the air with a valve, the air intake sound goes up a bit and simply installing the valve and leaving it wide open may be enough to lower the air to get the small bubble column up the neck that is most desirable.
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jfeva0049
Member
so what would be the best indicator that my skimmer is too small or unable to keep up with the bio load?? i ask because im having a hard time getting my phosphate under .16. nitrates are always zero but not phos. i am also running gfo and bio pellet reactor from reef dynamics. im not sure if phosphate is a direct indicator on the skimmer or not.
considering your carbon dosing and the black skimmate picture was over a weeks time... the skimmer is keeping up. If the skimmer was bursting with foam out the cups vents over a day(a reef dynamics/euro reef can pull that strong)...well.. a larger skimmer would be in order.
phosphate is not normally a skimmer issue, however, running the bubble column higher should help to remove more phosphate(trapped in the microfauna/ bacteria), so you should find your PO4 go down. Essentially, as you do water changes the po4 goes down and it should start to stay down. good ways to help control the extra PO4 is siphon out detritus when you change water, and, of course there is always GFO. before doing GFO, I would see what happens with the skimming change you made and look to make your water changes more effective(IE siphon more detritus).
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Jfeva... if you were just itching to buy a larger skimmer... get a reef dynamics ins135.. it is one of the best they ever made.. it has the same body and neck size as the ins100 with a larger pump(eco plus 1056/sedra 5000 pump )... now, reef dynamics just did a price hike, so, if you can find one at a LFS for the old 299 price tag... jump on it cause this skimmer is worth every penny at that price. I think it has the same footprint as the ins100, but, it may need a touch more room, hopefully, it should fit in your sump area. Oh, the ins135(and reef dynamics skimmers) is worth the price increase.. the thickness of material, hand crafted in the USA and performance warrant it...but... in today's "build em cheap in china' market I think the increase will hurt sales and move people to other less costly(more perceived bang for the buck) choices.
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OK guys I have An older euro-reef that uses two sedra 5000 pumps. Both pumps are bad. (The impellers were locked up and a cracked the cases getting them out)
Should I stick with the sedras or is there a better replacement.
The skimmer has a 8.5" body with a 5.5" neck
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Should I stick with the sedras or is there a better replacement.
The skimmer has a 8.5" body with a 5.5" neck
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
them pumps like to be cleaned in a 2:1 water vinegar bath every 4 to 6 months... anyways, the euro reef skimmers are top dog skimmers... nowadays, though, you could spend the money on a new skimmer and go more efficient in terms of energy usage. your cost for the skimmer will outweigh the energy savings though. What size tank are you running and estimated bioload?
220 gallon. With a 75 sump. I tend to load up heavy on the fish
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OK... sro5000, vertex alpha200, atb 1050 or maybe 1260 are what I would look at.. The alpha200 would be my first choice and is a bit more powerful skimmer than what you have now as well as the sro and 1050 ATB... however the best bang for the buck would be the sro5000.... I think if price is any priority I would compare the difference between replacing the pumps vs the sro5000 and just make a decision...the sro carries a nice 3 year warranty on the skimmer pump..it has a good body, but it is not quite as stout as the euro reef. If you want sexy, super quiet, incredible build quality, and killer skimming... whip out the ole credit card and order the alpha 200.
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azjohnny
Active member
You would be happy with the 5000, I don't know what the need to have a Cadillac type of build for a skimmer since all it does is remain motionless in a sump. I went from a Euroreef 6-2 with a Sedra 5000 pump to a SRO 5000INT and it was a huge improvement, my nitrates went from 80 to 5 ppm. I have noticed the SRO reacts quicker than the Euroreef did. I don't get the dark color skimmate that the ER would but I think that is because the skimmer gets rid of the organics quicker
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YoungREEFA
New member
Going reef octopus 150 for my 75 instead of the vert in100 BECAUSE thats going +1 on the skimmer size and it has an airsilencer and my buddy has it running amazingly. i know i wont be disappointed
the vertex in100 and nwb150 are the same size skimmer...body, air, water draw are equvalent(the vertex is a true rating vs the reef octo being overrated)... you will be happy with the nwb-150 it is a very good skimmer, just not as quiet in pump and output as the in100. You can buy from reef octo, or, make a vented output extention so that the output does not splash into your sump...
the 6-2 was equivalent in size to the current reef dynamics ins135... hard to compare a skimmer with 600-700plh air vs one with over 2000lph. The 6-2 would be considered undersized for your tank and meant for more for like a 75 to 120 gal tank. Yeah, there would be a big difference. Now, his skimmer vs the sro5000..more comparable and the performance difference is not enough to really make any kind of difference in tank parameters.
as far as why choose something like the vertex alpha 200... some folks appreciate the more precise build quality and if you ever had a chance to see the difference in the askoll pumps vs the bubble blaster, you'd understand the bubble blaster just does not compare in quality of materials or manufacturing. If one makes the $$ and wants to purchase high quality craftsmanship... I say go for it. Also the vertex has a more balanced air to water and as such are less prone to the surging/overflowing that some folks experience with the sro.. the outputs are better designed so air pockets cannot form in it. The pump and skimmer... silent to the point if you closed your eyes you might not be able to tell if it is even running.
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TylerHaworth
New member
Tunze 9410 - Vertex Omega 150 - SRO 2000INT - Avast CS1 - SSA CS2
125'ish gallons total water volume, 100'ish pounds of rock, SPS focused/high flow, and a medium fish load of (Powder Blue Tang, Foxface, 2x Percula, Small Wrasse, 2x Goby, and a Genicanthus Angel -or- a small harem of Anthias)
Which one, and why?
125'ish gallons total water volume, 100'ish pounds of rock, SPS focused/high flow, and a medium fish load of (Powder Blue Tang, Foxface, 2x Percula, Small Wrasse, 2x Goby, and a Genicanthus Angel -or- a small harem of Anthias)
Which one, and why?
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